The Occupation of Cyprus.

Thames Star, Volume IX, Issue 3004, 1 October 1878, Page 4

The Occupation of Cyprus.

There is certainly much to fire the imagination in the bond which practically adds Cyprus-to the possessions of the English Crown. Cyprus is a type of the islands and the provinces which make up the loose fabric of the Ottoman Empire. The old records of our civilization begin in those lands, and the technicalities of the Eastern Question are blended with the most familiar names of Biblical story or classic legend. Cyprus has gone through the usual vicissitudes of places over which conquest after conquest has rolled. The Greek, the' Roman, the Saracen, the Crusader, the Genoese, the Venetian, and the Turk have all in turn been its masters and woven its name into the literature of Europe. They have all used it for purposes of conquest, and for little else. The idea that the masters of a dependency should look to the welfare of its people is a modern addition to political morality, and the light of it has never shone on Cyprus. The Crusaders employed it as a resting-place,.the Italian Republics as a source of wealth, and the Turks as a place for the production of revenue. As the Ottoman Empire, has made little change in its fiscal practices, Cyprus lives under a system admirably fitted for stifling human energy, and the island is in much the same state as-it was generations ago... But now everything will be changed. The strength, the quiefude, and the security of British rule will bring capital tq the place and offer a rich field for ' commercial enterprise. Harbors' will: be deepened or ocnstrueted. There will be a naval station, and thus the constant bustle of English activity. If a railway N should ever be made from any port of the Levant to the Persian Gulf, Cyprus may become a place of some commercial importance. In fact, the best news which it has ever heard in the course of its long history is that it has now passed under the rule of England. The Mussulman as well as the Christian part of the population cannot fail torejoice over the arrival of an English Governor as nations do when delivered from foreign occupation. Cyprus will now be able to profit by some of the prosperity that has come to Western lands •which were peopled by wandering tribes when it had already a considerable place in history. To this country the possession will be of much maritime importance. It might have seemed that Mitylene would be a better naval statioja, because it is within easy sail of the Dardanelles ; but, in • truth, it would always be easy for the greatest of maritime Powers to close that narrow passage without permanently lying in wait at the entrance.' If Constantinople is in some ways an incomparable port, it has.the disadvantage of being more easily sealed up than many naval stations, even of the fifth and sixth magnitude Cyprus, on the other hand, is much b'e.ttqr adapted for protecting the most important link in the chain of our communications with the sea, since it is the nearest island to the Suez Canal. Short of a position in Egypt close to the Canal itself, Cyprus is the best place that this country could have occupied. But for many reasons tbe taking of Egyptian territory was impracticable, and the possession of the island is attended with special advantages. It will enable our ships to be always in the neighborhood of the Canal, and it will put an end to the fear that the passage could be stopped. At the same time it practically makes this country master of Syria. It has sometimes been predicted that Russia would gradually steal through Armenia until she should reach the Gulf of Scanderoon, and thus make herself a Mediteranean Power. In still bolder flights of fancy it has been supposed that she would push through the Syrian Desert until she should reach Egypt, and cut off the route to India. These are not very wise speculations. But, even if they were once high probabilities,' they need now cause no alarm. Cyprus closes the Gulf of Scarideroon, the point to which Russia would naturally come if she should meet with no resistance and the port of the same name could at any time be occupied by our ships. It is one of the finest natural harbours in the world. Indeed, some- enthusiastic witnesses maintain that it is the finest. Others qualify the description by saying that at certain seasons of the year the violence of the winds makes the 1 anchorage uncertain. There can be no doubt, at least, that the place is made terribly unhealthy by the marshes with which it is surrounded. Still, if the port were to become necessary for any of the purposes specified in the engagement with Turkey, those marshes might be drained. Batoum, which was once very unhealthy, is said to have lost its bad repute since the draining of the marshes behind the town. And such is the configuration of the coast that the Power which commands any one part of the way can bar the whole road to Egypt. The space between the mountains and the sea is so narrow that, sallying from Cyprus or Scanderoon, a naval Power could cut it at any point. As for the idea that an invading army could gradually creep towards Egypt through the Syrian Desert, it is enough to say that England must first of all have-to lose the command of the sea, and therefore the power sending troops to positions which could be easily held by a small force. The possession of Cyprus cannot be dissociated from the pledges given by the Sultan and the responsibilities undertaken by this country. The Asiatic provinces cannot be rescued from misrule except by Western agency, and it will be necessary for English authority to be on the spot. Cyprus is, on the whole, the best station that could have been chosen for such a purpose. The Porte will now be expected to develope the vast natural resources of its Asiatic Empire, or, at least, to let that task be done by others. The country must now be opened up by roads, -and, perhaps, by railways. Something more will doubtless be heard of the scheme to construct a railway through the Euphrates or the Tigris Valley—a proposition which- a Select Committee of the House of Common s investigated in 1872, and to which it gave a qualified assent. A good many facts and opinions may then be. culled from the evidence of the witnesses against as well as for the project. To construct a line through more than 900 miles of thinly populated and sometimes desert country would certainly be a bold enterprise. But,' if the Government should think that such a railway is necessary to insure the safety of our communications with India, the starting point would in any case be commanded by Cyprus. That island will, in fact, be an admirable naval station, whether for the purpose of protecting-the Suez Canal, securing a second road to India, or giving this country the requisite authority in its relations with the Porte.